Despair and Rampage (2)
"Your sister… Seol-luna… died seven years ago… She's already dead! Even before you became a hero…!!!"
The superior finally blurted out the truth he knew once his life was in danger.
"What…?"
—Chae-ae-ae-aeng—!
In an instant, the ice spike that had been piercing the superior's neck shattered with a sharp sound, and Rumi collapsed to her knees on the spot.
"What… what does that mean…? H-her being dead…?"
According to everything Rumi knew, her sister Seol-luna had gone missing during hero activities five years ago, and only a few people within the Alliance had been told she suffered severe injuries in a large-scale battle against a villain organization.
The year Rumi turned twenty, she had gone to the Hero Alliance to find her missing sister, and the Alliance had promised to help locate her in exchange for her taking on all the difficult tasks as a hero.
The shocking truth that her sister, who was supposedly missing five years ago, had actually died even earlier—seven years ago.
While the fact that her sister was dead was already an enormous shock, Rumi was furious that they had known she died before even going missing and had never told her.
"Kuh… Your sister died seven years ago… Are you satisfied now…?"
"Why… why didn't you tell me…? Why… why…! Why!!!!!!!!"
Sitting on the office floor like a lost child, she screamed at her superior while tears streamed from her pale blue eyes and fell to the floor.
"I… I only found out about this not too long ago. So… don't blame me for it."
The superior pressed a hand against the bleeding wound in his neck and slowly backed away toward the office door, trying to escape from Rumi.
"…I can't forgive you…."
"Kuh… Then… I'll be going first…!"
"I can't forgive you!!!!!!!!!!!!"
A scream filled with rage and despair, so intense it seemed ready to overflow. The cry was sharp enough to echo beyond the soundproofed office.
—Kwa-deu-deu-deu-deu-deuk—!!!!
And that scream began to manifest in another form.
—Pyu-shu-u-u-uk… Eu-deu-deu-deuk…!
"Kuaaah…!!"
Countless ice spikes erupted wildly around Rumi's body. They pierced the superior who had been quietly trying to flee the office, causing blood to gush out.
The furniture and objects in the office were all impaled and shattered by the spikes, and the broken pieces along with fragments of ice scattered across the floor like crystal shards.
"Even if you… do something like this… what… changes…"
"Shut up."
—Kwa-deu-deu-deu-deu-deuk—!!!!
The silver-haired girl who had desperately struggled just to find her missing sister.
Those five years, short yet long, had slowly eaten away at her heart, sharpening the once pure and clean ice into something deadly.
And now, those sharp spikes were turning toward the ones who had wounded her.
***
"Next up. A hero affiliated with the Hero Alliance has attacked an official within the Alliance headquarters. The official is reported to have suffered serious injuries and has been transported to the hospital. There were no security cameras installed in the office where the incident occurred for security reasons, and the victim's condition was only discovered about an hour after the perpetrator left the office. The victim had been pierced through the abdomen and other parts of the body, losing a large amount of blood, and the official who had been hiding is currently undergoing surgery at the hospital. Alliance authorities stated they are investigating heroes who have entry records for the floor where the office is located and will quickly subdue the perpetrator to prevent further casualties."
"What the hell is this? A hero attacked an official?"
Si-yoon, who had been browsing the internet on his smartphone during dinner, was shocked by the sensational article posted in the news section of the portal site. He showed the screen to Do-hwa, who was sitting on the sofa drinking beer with him.
"Something like this… happened? There was no mention of it when I went today…?"
Do-hwa, who had been at the Alliance headquarters just an hour earlier, was also greatly surprised and reacted with disbelief.
"I've heard of heroes attacking civilians when I was young, but attacking an Alliance official… this is the first I've heard of something like that."
It had been about fifteen years since the last incident where a hero attacked a civilian. That case had been so shocking it dominated newspaper front pages for nearly a month, and even now there were many people who distrusted and rejected heroes because of it.
Even the Alliance, which had hidden and covered up countless incidents until then, couldn't conceal this one, causing their image to plummet. They had to spend years advertising the heroes' achievements and the Alliance's good deeds to the public.
"And yet they didn't give any heads-up to the other heroes?"
"No. Today happened to be the day of the regular physical checkup, so I was at headquarters all day."
The victim had fallen into a coma, and with no devices left behind to record evidence for security reasons, the hero's identity couldn't be immediately determined.
Of course, investigating the personnel who entered during that time or getting testimony from the victim after surgery would likely reveal the culprit quickly.
"It doesn't seem like they're trying to cover it up, since the article's already out."
"I think other companies would do the same, but the Alliance tells officials not to casually share work matters even with their families. The fact that an article like this came out… doesn't it mean there's someone inside the Alliance leaking information?"
"Well… probably. There are always people who sell out their organization's secrets for money. There were a few like that back when I was in Dark Knights too."
Leaking an organization's confidential information for personal gain was a common occurrence, especially within villain organizations.
"The atmosphere at headquarters is going to be insane for a while. There've been a lot of weird rumors going around the Alliance lately too."
"What kind of rumors?"
"It's a rumor that's been around for a while… conspiracy theories about heroes being modified or having chips implanted in their brains."
"Really? Even among the heroes?"
People who suddenly disappeared one day only to reappear with monstrously powerful bodies and abilities. Ghost stories and wild rumors about such beings existed not only among villains but also among the heroes themselves.
"Ugh…! Do-hwa, you should be careful for a while too. Anyway, they said the operation's been suspended."
The operation to subdue the executive-level villain of Dark Knights that the Hero Alliance had been conducting.
While the Alliance had managed to capture and detain Executioner, Firecracker Rui-lin and Tricker Chae-ryeong were at Si-yoon's hideout. From Si-yoon's perspective, only the boss and Crazy Chain had disappeared without a trace, but from the Alliance's side, they had lost everyone except Executioner.
With the subjugation operation effectively suspended, there wouldn't be much for Do-hwa to gain within the Alliance for the time being.
"You're right…. Or maybe taking a few days off would be better."
Since Do-hwa was maintaining her hero activities for her spy work, she judged that suspending her activities and resting might be the wiser choice in such a bloody atmosphere.
"Maybe I should take some time off right now… and rest a bit?"
"I'd like that. Everyone's at the hideout, so we've been together a lot, but you've been working hard outside all this time."
Not to mention Ji-woo and Rui-lin, who drank Si-yoon's semen every morning, or Chae-ryeong, who was almost always asleep due to her cat traits but still frequently had relations with him. However, because Do-hwa was busy with hero work, there were many times when more than a week passed without them being intimate.
"Actually… I want to be used by Master even after work, but… both you and I always look so tired…."
Knowing that Si-yoon had relations with multiple women several times a day, she had refrained from asking out of consideration, thinking he must be exhausted.
"Huh? I'm fine! I don't dry up even if I cum dozens of times a day."
However, Do-hwa's concern meant nothing to Si-yoon. Thanks to the additional effects of the Corruption System, he possessed tireless stamina and virility, enough that even after double-digit rounds of sex he only felt slightly fatigued.
"No need. If anything, I was worried you might be tired, Do-hwa. Were you actually holding back because you thought I'd be exhausted? That's sweet."
Si-yoon seemed quite moved by Do-hwa's thoughtfulness.
After all, for the past few weeks, he had been constantly squeezed dry by lust-filled females. Even though their relationship was that of master and slave, with the numbers increasing recently, supply had begun to exceed demand.
Of course, Si-yoon didn't dislike it—in fact, he rather enjoyed it—but such considerate words from a subordinate, saying she wouldn't do it for his sake, were enough to move him.
"This won't do, Do-hwa. I need to give you a big reward today."